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Boeing 787 Dreamliner takes to the sky
THE Boeing 787 Dreamliner took to the sky for the first on December 15, ushering a new era in air travel as it departed before an estimated crowd of more than 12,000 employees and guests from Paine Field in Everett, Washington. The flight marks the beginning of a flight test programme that will see six aircraft flying nearly around the clock and around the globe, with the aircraft's first delivery scheduled for fourth quarter 2010.
 The newest member of the Boeing family of commercial jetliners took off from Paine Field in Everett at 10:27 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. After approximately three hours six minutes in the air, it landed at 1:33 p.m. at Seattle's Boeing Field.
Boeing 787 Chief Pilot Mike Carriker and Capt. Randy Neville tested some of the aircraft's systems and structures, as on-board equipment recorded and transmitted real-time data to a flight-test team at Boeing Field.
After takeoff from Everett, the aircraft followed a route over the east end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Capts. Carriker and Neville took the aircraft to an altitude of 15,000 feet and an air speed of 180 knots, or about 333 km per hour, customary on a first flight.
"It is truly a proud and historic day for the global team who has worked tirelessly to design and build the 787 Dreamliner -- the first all-new jet aircraft of the 21st century," said Scott Fancher, Vice President and General Manager of the 787 programme. "We look forward to the upcoming flight test programme and soon bringing groundbreaking levels of efficiency, technology and passenger comfort to airlines and the flying public."
Powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, the first Boeing 787 will be joined in the flight test programme in the coming weeks and months by five other 787s, including two that will be powered by General Electric GEnx engines.
Earlier on December 12, the 787 Dreamliner completed high-speed taxi tests. This was the last in a series of functional tests planned in preparation for first flight.
"Our pilots told me the aircraft performed beautifully," said Mike Delaney, vice president and chief project engineer for the 787. "We're going through and analyzing the data to ensure we're ready for first flight. From evaluations we've done so far, everything looks good."
During the testing, the aircraft reached a top speed of approximately 130 knots or 240 km per hour, and the pilots lifted the nose gear from the pavement.
India connection
Addressing a media conference in Mumbai to announce the successful first flight of the Dreamliner on December 16, Dinesh Keskar, President Boeing India said. "India has a significant role to play in the historic 787 programme. Air India has ordered 27 aircraft and Jet Airways has ordered 10 this constitutes four per cent of the total worldwide order of 840 aircraft sold.”
 “We are also proud of the close engagement with our Indian partners HCL and the Tata Group, who are suppliers to the programme."
Six aircraft will be used in the flight testing programme which will last till end of 2010. The second aircraft is getting ready and by June 2010 all the six aircraft would have joined the test aircraft fleet. Simultaneously, production has commenced of aircraft for delivery to customer airlines, Keskar said.
He said that while the Boeing 787 many advancements hereto not available in any other commercial aircraft, the aircraft first of all is hand-built with composites, which gives it a huge weight savings. The other first is that the engines are inter-changeable. The two different engine models compatible with the 787 will use a standard electrical interface to allow an aircraft to be fitted with either Rolls-Royce or General Electric engines. This will save time and cost when changing engine types.
The other innovation in the cabin of the aircraft is that the aircraft maintains a cabin atmosphere of 6,000 feet above ground level in contract to 8,000 feet in other aircraft, whereby reducing passengers fatigue in long flights.
Talking about the aircraft’s cockpit design, Keskar said that it stems from the Boeing 777, but is more pilot friendly. The addition is a Head-up-Display system for the pilots which are helpful will takeoff and landing.
Talking about the rate of production of the aircraft, Keskar said that with the North Charleston facility coming online, by 2013 the rate of production will 13 aircraft per month.
The 787 Dreamliner will offer passengers a better flying experience and provide airline operators greater efficiency to better serve the point-to-point routes and additional frequencies passengers prefer. The technologically-advanced 787 will use 20 per cent less fuel than today's aircraft of comparable size, provide airlines with up to 45 per cent more cargo revenue capacity and present passengers with innovations that include a new interior environment with cleaner air, larger windows, more stowage space, improved lighting and other passenger-preferred conveniences.
While the 787-8 will enter service in 2010 with lunch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA), the 787-9 will enter service next in 2013. The last to enter service will be the 787-3. The aircraft’s maximum seating capacity is between 290 and 330 passengers, depending on variant.
The first flight of the 787 Dreamliners had slipped for two and a half year due to various factors. The aircraft was originally scheduled to enter service in May 2008, but production had been delayed multiple times, and in August 2009, the scheduled service entry date was pushed back to the fourth quarter of 2010. The aircraft's maiden flight was, originally planned for September 2007.
On January 28, 2005, the aircraft's development designation 7E7 was changed to 787.
On April 26, 2004, the Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) became the launch customer for the 787, then known as the 7E7, by announcing a firm order for 50 aircraft with deliveries to begin in late 2008.
Fifty-five customers around the world have ordered 840 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, making it the fastest-selling new commercial jetliner in history.
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